Joshua

Just over a month after our first wedding anniversary, Joshua Arthur Harvill was born on January 30th, 1987. He was a hit with the nurses in the maternity ward because his smile created prominent dimples on his face.

When he was only a few weeks old, Brenda jumped (actually hobbled) at the chance to get out of the house for a dinner invitation at a friend's home. With a full belly, Josh fell asleep. So Brenda put him down on a soft place between two stereo speakers. At some time during the evening, the host wasn't thinking and cranked some music on the stereo. Josh never flinched--just kept on sleeping-- like he was at home with loud music!

His sister Betsy was born a year and a month after him in March, 1988. Brenda brought the disciplined, quiet, patient and stalwart aspect to our child-rearing duties. I brought the "crazy dreamer" to the game as I was still at college while my kids were born. Even though I was pursuing a bachelor's degree, I longed to be a musician and a song writer in the long run. My kids probably got a real balance with the both of us as parents. Thanks God for my sweet wife!

Josh was and is a true artist. He would always be drawing some kind of super hero or a human-animal hybrid (usually with huge claws)! He also loved music. We have a video of Josh and me sitting in our living room with our backs to the camera listening and singing to songs I had recorded. He was probably 7 years old then, and I said to Josh that someday he could work with me on a recording project. Little did we know then how true that would be in the future.

Josh told me one day that he wanted to play drums, not guitar, and hoped I wouldn't be disappointed. So Brenda set out pots and pans with wooden spoons on the kitchen floor for Josh to practice. His uncle Jon is a drummer and, for some reason, we had Jon's drums set up at my house. Joshua was so tempted to jump on them and start pounding away. We held him back from that so he wouldn't hurt his uncle's gear. Cookware had to do!

After my mother's death in 1997, we moved from Mobile, Alabama to North Carolina so we could live near my dad. We soon started a new church with a local pastor, Mike Snelgrove. The first drummer we had on our new worship team was dying of cancer and we turned to Josh as our drummer, even though, up to that point, he had no real "kit" experience. He just got up there, took the sticks and was incredible. He was a natural right away! He even had to stand up to hit the crash cymbals, but then he'd quickly sit down in a split-second to start grooving again between the hi-hat, snare and kick drum. That was when he was 13. We bought him his own kit soon after and he has since turned into a marvelous, professional drummer.

He has a great reputation for being not only a great live player, but also an excellent session drummer. He has the ability to read music, find the right part and bring signature licks and grooves to each song. I use him exclusively on all of my projects because he is so good.

A few nights ago I sat in the audience while he recorded drums for a live album. He did so well--every lick, groove and fill were expertly executed. No fixes, just straight through from the first song all the way to the last. That's-a-my-boy!

He's married now to a beautiful girl named Amber. They are starting out on a journey just like Brenda and I did 26 years ago. I pray he has the courage to blast through all of the naysayers who might try to talk him out of pursuing his dreams. The funny thing is, he has since learned to play the guitar and keyboards--he can sing, too. Now that he's graduated from college, I know he will set the world on fire. Maybe someday he will let me play on his project!